We continue our series of reviews chronicling all of the (non-Studio Ghibli) animated films distributed by GKIDS Films — some of the most original and breathtakingly beautiful animated films from around the world — and how they hold up for a young American audience.

The entire retrospective is found here, and this time we’ve got…

Perfect Blue (1997): Satoshi Kon, director

What’s it about?

Mima is a rising and incredibly popular pop star who is one-third of girl group CHAM. But she yearns to break out of the mold and become a more “serious” actress. After leaving the group, she lands a role on a popular TV drama, but when she’s not greeted with instant success and landmark roles, she becomes haunted by guilt, her past, and a thousand What ifs.

And then all hell breaks loose. The people around her start showing up dead – not just dead but brutally murdered – and Mima finds herself hunted by a deranged “fan”/stalker. But what’s real? What’s in her mind? And what’s simply part of the role she’s playing on TV? Mima’s world quickly becomes a blurry and confusing soup of fantasy and reality – and she is never quite sure what’s real. What’s actually happening?

Likewise, we, as viewers, can’t trust anything we see. We watch events unfold from Mima’s distorted perception of reality, and we’re just along for the twisted, disturbing ride.

Perfect Blue was Satoshi Kon’s directorial debut, and in the 20+ years since its release, it’s gained a reputation as one of the most “important” animated films to come out of Japan. Interestingly, this film was originally released in 1997, at the veritable dawn of the internet age. An important plot point concerns a trollish fan page “on the world wide web” and the unfamiliar new technology behind the internet.

Nevertheless, Perfect Blue remains vitally relevant, despite that baby internet. The film captured a disturbing reality many women (celebrities or not) face in the world, which has only been amplified by the rise of social media and constant connection to the internet we have today. In the late 90s, I doubt Satoshi Kon could have predicted the continuing relevance Mima’s story would have, but it has. And it’s terrifying.

What are the cultures at play? And how about the languages?

This is a Japanese film about a young pop-star-turned-actress at the dawn of the internet era. Culturally, there’s not much audiences should find foreign here, aside from Mima being called an “idol,” which is basically just the Japanese term for pop star.

The Shout Factory Blu-ray release has the original 2.0 Japanese audio and a 5.1 Japanese track, along with a 5.1 English dub. The English dub is… not good. So do yourself a favor and watch Perfect Blue in its original language.

Will my kids like it? Is there anything objectionable for young kids?

I certainly hope you don’t give them a chance to find out. Perfect Blue is NOT a kids movie, despite being distributed by GKIDS. The movie is an intense psychological thriller with disturbing scenes of graphic violence, sexual assault, rape, nudity, and mental abuse. When the movie was first released in the States, it was an edited version so it could get an R rating. The version on the Shout Factory Blu-ray is the complete, unedited (unrated) version of the film. Though it’s a good film, it should not be on tap for your next family movie night.

Will I like it?

If you’re a film buff or fan of animation, then yes. It’s a groundbreaking film that deserves to be seen. It actually influenced and has echoes in several other films, notably Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream and Black Swan. So if you know those films, you should have some idea of what to expect here. The actual animation style looks dated by today’s standards, so keep that in mind.

If you’re looking for a feel-good film or something you don’t need to think about too deeply, then this might not be the film for you. It should also probably come with a trigger warning for its depiction of sexual assault and rape. So, y’know, there’s that.

How can I see it?

GKIDS and Shout Factory recently released a Blu-ray edition of the film, which includes a few special features: lectures by director Satoshi Kon, cast and crew interviews, “Angel of Your Heart” recording session, and trailers and TV spots. It’s available from all the usual outlets, including Amazon.

Final word?

As long as you know what you’re getting into, you should give this one a shot. It’s got a mighty reputation among fans of Japanese animation, which may or may not be deserved. But if you don’t go into Perfect Blue with all that baggage, you should be able to “enjoy” and appreciate the film for what it is: a film that predicted the social media hellscape in which we currently live. It’s also one HELL of a debut film, so my hat is off to 1997 Satoshi Kon.